This morning I went to the San Antonio Livestock Show/Rodeo and got to watch the sheepdog trials. I am now addicted to collies.

Now I have another dog to consider for the future. I'm an outdoorsy person who likes dogs that are not aloof and yet not extreme velcro. A dog that want's to do something, but yet has (or can be trained to have ) an off switch.

Which of the three would be good for me? I am planning on getting him/her from either a shelter/rescue or private rehome. I don't care if the dog is a mix or not, but he/she has to be under a year old (parents dog will not except anything he views as a "threat" and puppies/young dogs to him are harmless).

I understand about the energy/drive and am planning on ways to work with that. I have acres that me and the dog can find things to do on.

Understanding each dog is an individual, but which breed in general has:
-Low incidence of DA/HA (I've heard bad things about ACDs)
-Few health issues
-Can live with other animals (cats, small pets)? I've never had a herding breed before.

Hmm.. from the sounds of it you wouldn't like a staple ACD. They are supposed to be aloof, DR/DA/SSA is definitely an issue in the breed, and if they have a strong herding drive small animals don't mesh well.

I'd personally take a look at Aussies if you are dead set on a herder.

If you don't like velcro, I'd reconsider an Aussie. I thought my Dobermans were extreme velcro dogs, and they are, but Journey surprised me in being just as much so. She ALWAYS wants to be near me, preferably touching. She's always watching.

And although the breed is not supposed to be, she is a huge people lover and not at all reserved. Ever since I posted my last thread, I think the reason people may not always want to pet her is because she looks a little nuts when people make eye contact with her. Her eyes get big and her body goes into full over the top wiggle mode if they look at her too long or approach. Other Aussies I know are much more reserved, but some are just like Journ too.

Also, if you like Border Collies, you might find Aussies to be very bouncy, in your face, comical dogs. All of the Border Collies I've gotten to know are much more serious, more reserved, more intense dogs who look at life more as a job than it seems most Aussies do. Journey does know when it's time to be more serious, but all in all, she thinks life is one big party and is always very, very up and happy.

Yeah, I'd say all 3 breeds have a predisposition of clingyness. That being said, I think your best bet would really be to get out there and meet them, there's a huge variance within the breeds named, and across them too.

If you don't like velcro, I'd reconsider an Aussie. I thought my Dobermans were extreme velcro dogs, and they are, but Journey surprised me in being just as much so. She ALWAYS wants to be near me, preferably touching. She's always watching.

And although the breed is not supposed to be, she is a huge people lover and not at all reserved. Ever since I posted my last thread, I think the reason people may not always want to pet her is because she looks a little nuts when people make eye contact with her. Her eyes get big and her body goes into full over the top wiggle mode if they look at her too long or approach. Other Aussies I know are much more reserved, but some are just like Journ too.

Also, if you like Border Collies, you might find Aussies to be very bouncy, in your face, comical dogs. All of the Border Collies I've gotten to know are much more serious, more reserved, more intense dogs who look at life more as a job than it seems most Aussies do. Journey does know when it's time to be more serious, but all in all, she thinks life is one big party and is always very, very up and happy.

I'm not really sure what I need, so that's part of the problem.

Abby, GSD X Boxer, sounds a lot like your journey. She is almost 5 and still "happy, happy, joy, joy".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oko

Yeah, I'd say all 3 breeds have a predisposition of clingyness. That being said, I think your best bet would really be to get out there and meet them, there's a huge variance within the breeds named, and across them too.

Problem is, I can't find very many "dog" things in my area. I do volunteer at a shelter, but at of of all the dogs, only one has possible Aussie in the woodpile. She's nice, but super shy and DR at times.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJEtzel

Recon would fit you pretty well.

Send that dog my way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by meepitsmeagan

Hmm.. from the sounds of it you wouldn't like a staple ACD. They are supposed to be aloof, DR/DA/SSA is definitely an issue in the breed, and if they have a strong herding drive small animals don't mesh well.

I'd personally take a look at Aussies if you are dead set on a herder.

I'm not really sure what I need. I need a dog that is handler oriented, under 50lb, no professional grooming and can basically get along with other animals.

This morning I went to the San Antonio Livestock Show/Rodeo and got to watch the sheepdog trials. I am now addicted to collies.

Now I have another dog to consider for the future. I'm an outdoorsy person who likes dogs that are not aloof and yet not extreme velcro. A dog that want's to do something, but yet has (or can be trained to have ) an off switch.

Which of the three would be good for me? I am planning on getting him/her from either a shelter/rescue or private rehome. I don't care if the dog is a mix or not, but he/she has to be under a year old (parents dog will not except anything he views as a "threat" and puppies/young dogs to him are harmless).

I understand about the energy/drive and am planning on ways to work with that. I have acres that me and the dog can find things to do on.

Understanding each dog is an individual, but which breed in general has:
-Low incidence of DA/HA (I've heard bad things about ACDs)
-Few health issues
-Can live with other animals (cats, small pets)? I've never had a herding breed before.

Brushing is not a problem.

You have a DA dog, if I remember you mentioning it correctly, so I would say no on the ACD. ACDs are very unforgiving to snarky behavior from Other dogs, some can even be worse then pit bulls and once they decide they don't like. Dog then that's it, you have to keep them separated.

__________________If there are any typos, it means I am on my phone LOL

You have a DA dog, if I remember you mentioning it correctly, so I would say no on the ACD. ACDs are very unforgiving to snarky behavior from Other dogs, some can even be worse then pit bulls and once they decide they don't like. Dog then that's it, you have to keep them separated.

Thank you for saving me from that!

I keep spacing him out, even though he is the reason the new dog MUST be under 1yr old. For some reason that is the magic number with him. Anything introduced to him as a baby (cat, goat, rat,etc) and it turns into "his" baby. One of my cats gets groomed daily by him, said cat brought in as a 6 week old rescue.

The reason I can't wait till he passes, is Abby. Before we had Deputy, Zane ended up being boarded at the vets for awhile after he developed an abscess. Abby lost weight, developed severe SA and basically stopped functioning. That all stopped when Zane came back. She didn't have this problem after we got Dep and Zane had to stay at the vets after his Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis attack. She is a dog that needs a dog.

I think if you don't know what you need that going to a shelter and picking out a dog that fits would be a good option. When I was in Texas we had a lot of dogs of all sorts of breed types that would have fit.